Wednesday, August 19, 2015

One month before Orville Wright's birthday (which we
remember today on National Aviation day) he was injured in a plane crash while
demonstrating the Wright Flyer to the U.S. Army in Ft. Myers, Virginia with Lt. Thomas
E. Selfridge on board.

On their fifth circuit of the field, the Flyer’s right propeller
broke unleashing a cascade of other problems that caused the plane to nose dive.
Selfridge, a pilot and airplane designer was killed.

There is little doubt in my mind that these aviation
pioneers understood the risks associated with taking to the sky. Of the
uncertainties for aviation pioneers, Wilbur Wright wrote this beautiful
warning; "If you are looking for perfect safety, you will do well to
sit on a fence and watch the birds; but if you really wish to learn, you must
mount a machine and become acquainted with its tricks by actual trial."

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

The section of wing found on Reunion Island in the South
Indian Ocean last week came from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, or at least enough of a positive
identification was made today for the Malaysian Prime Minister
Najib Razak to announce he's satisfied.

While not a surprise to anyone who has seen or read the news
since the part was found on a rocky beach, Razak’s statement is a six
foot bit of certainty in the still-mysterious disappearance of the Boeing 777
on March 8, 2014.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Glass half full: This American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner, returned to Beijing safely after flying into a hail storm at 26 thousand feet (ish) after takeoff on July 27. All 209 passengers and a crew of 13 were able to continue on the way to Dallas albeit on a different airplane and with a delay.

Glass half empty: Travelers had the beejeebies scared out of them during the encounter. Passenger Dallas Rueschoff told a reporter, "We were going sideways, up and down...we dropped a good few
hundred feet at least." Or as a 787 pilot I know characterized it, "I bet that was a hellava ride and I'm glad I wasn't there." Then there is the damage to the brand new $200+ million airliner.